Rape attempt case: Health staff to relaunch protest movement

TOBA TEK SINGH: Health department employees have decided to re-launch their protest movement after failure of their talks with DCO Wajeehullah Kundi in connection with an attempted rape case.

This was announced by Punjab EPI Employees Federation secretary-general Rana Amjad Ali, Labour Party district secretary Tariq Mahmood, Punjab Teachers Union Women Wing’s district president Safia Haq, district EPI Federation president Ihsanullah, District Health Employees Association president Ghazala Saeed and secretary Uzma Amin while talking to reporters at the Press Club here on Friday

They claimed that during talks with their 30-member delegation on Thursday night the DCO took least interest in resolving the issue and he even termed the attempted rape of a lady health supervisor by a doctor an ordinary matter.

They said trade unions, the civil society people and EPI employees had again set up a hunger strike camp outside the DHO office and they also threatened to take out a rally if their demands were not met by Monday.

They demanded arrest of accused doctors Faheem Ahmed and Aurangzeb and transfer of PRSP district manager Masood Anwar and district monitoring officer Muhammad Hanif to some other district.

The DCO claimed that he did not pass such remarks during a reconciliation meeting and that he had already written to PRSP high-ups about the dispute, but so far he could not receive any reply from them.

He said district PRSP manager Masood Anwar was doing some course in Lahore while an attempt to rape case had been registered against Dr Faheem.

The DCO said the accused doctor had escape to his home province in the NWFP and the police were trying to arrest him.

He said health officials had conducted an inquiry and the action would be taken in the light of the report.

A source said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had also taken a notice of the issue and ordered an inquiry into the incident.

He said Punjab PRSP director Dr Arshad Dar and a CM secretariat official had visited here on Thursday and recorded statements of both health employees and officials.
Source: Dawn
Date:5/23/2009